Forward thinking or blowing smoke? Sides deeply at odds over cannabis research bill one year later

SALT LAKE CITY — As Rep. Brad Daw pushes for legislation addressing the cultivation and study of the plant in Utah, opposing sides of the medical cannabis debate still don’t agree about whether his year-old research bill has delivered on its promises — or why it was passed in the first place.

Daw’s 2017 measure, HB130, made it possible for a person to possess and distribute cannabis “to a patient pursuant to an institutional review board-approved study,” according to summary text from the bill.

Daw lauds the measure — which passed the House of Representatives and Senate last year by overwhelming margins — as a critical way for patients to gain access in a way that ensures they